Doctor Vampire (Region B)

While Hong Kong horror cinema is more often associated with the jiangshi or “hopping vampires” of Chinese legend, it has also embraced (and, more often than not, lampooned) the Western vampire tradition. One of the more outrageous films to bring European bloodsuckers to Hong Kong is Jamie Luk’s Doctor Vampire – a perfect blend of horror and comedy with shades of Vamp, Fright Night and, of course, Hong Kong’s own Mr Vampire series.

While on vacation in Britain, surgeon Dr Chiang Ta-Tsung (Bowie Lam, Hard Boiled) wanders into a quaint rural pub in the grounds of a castle, where he quickly falls for hostess Alice (Ellen Chan, Wizard’s Curse). Despite several warning signs, the good doctor fails to realise that the establishment is staffed entirely by vampires – even after Alice bites him during a late-night tryst. Upon his return to Hong Kong and his long-standing love interest May Chan (Sheila Chan, Heroes Among Heroes), he attempts to return to his normal life. But soon he develops an aversion to sunlight and begins to crave blood, and things get even more complicated when Alice and her undead master – The Count (Peter Kjaer) – come looking for him…

Offering a variation on the jiangshi craze kick-started by Encounter of the Spooky Kind and Mr Vampire, Doctor Vampire is one of a handful of films – along with Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and Vampire vs Vampire – to bring Hollywood’s creatures of the night to Hong Kong. Eureka Classics is proud to present this ghoulish horror-comedy on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from a brand-new 2k restoration.